Before Lin Xuan could spot the one favored by the heavens, he and Yue made their way downstairs, preparing to leave the inn.

  The common hall was lively, filled with travelers exchanging news over cups of wine. As Lin Xuan passed by, a familiar topic drifted into his ears.

  “Did you hear?” a man said in a hushed but excited tone. “Five days ago, in the mountain region outside the city, an entire bandit group was wiped out. Not a single survivor.”

  Another customer leaned forward. “The leader too?”

  “Dead,” the man replied. “Cut down along with all his men. Clean and absolute.”

  Lin Xuan paused slightly. Yue slowed her steps, listening quietly.

  Suddenly—

  A woman seated near the corner stood up abruptly, her chair scraping loudly against the floor. Her expression was tight with anger, her fists clenched at her sides. Without saying a word, she turned and strode out of the inn.

  Two bodyguards immediately followed behind her, their expressions grim.

  "That girl I fell something to her." Lin Xuan murmured

  The room fell briefly silent.

  One of the men sighed and shook his head. “Well… it’s only natural for her to be angry after hearing that.”

  Someone frowned. “Why?”

  The man lowered his voice. “She’s the only daughter of the master of the Prosperity Cloud Chamber.”

  A ripple of surprise spread through the hall.

  “Such a big shot?”

  “Then why—?”

  The man’s expression darkened. “Because her entire family is gone. The only one she had left was her father… and he was killed by those bandits while returning home.”

  The chatter softened.

  “No retives. No allies. Just her and her father,” he continued quietly. “She was likely preparing to avenge him herself.”

  Another customer sighed. “And now that the bandits are already dead…”

  “…it’s only natural she’d be angry,” someone finished. “Her chance for revenge is gone.”

  Lin Xuan’s eyes flickered faintly as he absorbed the words. Yue gnced at him but said nothing.

  Lin Xuan took a step forward and looked at the man who had been expining the situation earlier.

  “What’s her name?” he asked calmly.

  The man turned around—and instantly froze.

  His eyes widened as they nded on Lin Xuan’s refined features, then drifted uncontrolbly toward Yue. Her silver-white hair, crimson eyes, and goddess-like aura made his mind go bnk.

  Such a handsome man… and such a beautiful goddess…

  Before the man could continue staring—

  Smack!

  Lin Xuan’s palm nded cleanly on the back of his head.

  “Ow—!”

  Lin Xuan sighed lightly. “Sorry. I think you’re trapped in a hallucination.”

  Lin Xuan casually tossed a high-grade spirit stone onto the table. It clinked softly against the wood, releasing a faint glow that immediately snapped the man back to his senses.

  “This is my compensation,” Lin Xuan said calmly. “Now tell me what’s her background?”

  The moment the high-grade spirit stone nded on the table, a faint radiance spread through the inn.

  Every customer nearby stiffened.

  All eyes turned toward the table—then slowly toward Lin Xuan.

  Low murmurs rippled through the hall.

  “A high-grade spirit stone… just like that?”

  “Who exactly is this man?”

  “That level of wealth… he’s definitely a big shot.”

  Some gnced at Lin Xuan with awe, others with barely concealed respect.

  “To casually use something like that as compensation…”

  “He must come from an extraordinary background.”

  Respect crept into the gazes directed at Lin Xuan, curiosity mixed with caution.

  At the same time, a few people gnced at Yue.

  They noticed her pale hair and calm demeanor, her presence refined rather than ostentatious. No one stared too long, nor did anyone dare speak openly—there was simply an unspoken understanding that she was not someone to be offended.

  Lin Xuan, however, seemed completely unaware of the attention, his expression calm and indifferent—as if such praise and specution were nothing more than passing noise.

  The man swallowed hard, instantly serious. He grabbed the spirit stone as if afraid it might vanish.

  “R-Right, right!” he said hurriedly. “Her name is Su Qingyun.”

  He lowered his voice. “She’s the only daughter of the master of the Prosperity Cloud Chamber. Her family was never rge, and her mother passed away early. Her father was the st of her kin… until he was killed by those bandits five days ago.”

  The man sighed. “Since then, she’s been alone. No retives, no backing. Only the chamber’s old connections holding things together. Everyone thought she would personally hunt down those bandits to avenge her father.”

  Lin Xuan’s eyes flickered thoughtfully.

  “And now,” the man continued, “with the bandits already wiped out… she’s lost even that.”

  Lin Xuan nodded faintly and let out a soft breath, his gaze lingering on the inn’s entrance where the woman had disappeared.

  “So…” he muttered, half to himself, “by wiping out those bandits, we robbed her of the chance to avenge her father.”

  His eyes narrowed slightly, a strange glint fshing within them.

  “Hatred, a fallen family, a lone survivor… this kind of story,” he said calmly, “is exactly how a protagonist is born.”

  Yue fell silent for a moment. She rarely hesitated—but this time, her expression softened.

  “She didn’t even get to draw her bde,” Yue said quietly. “That kind of pain doesn’t disappear just because the enemy is dead and I took her chance to avenge her father.”

  Lin Xuan gnced at her, mildly surprised.

  After a brief pause, he spoke, “Yue.”

  “Yes, Master?”

  “Let’s follow her.”

  Yue nodded without hesitation, her crimson eyes carrying a trace of pity.

  “Yeah,” she replied softly. “Let’s follow her.”

  The two turned toward the exit, stepping into the bustling streets of Cloud City—

  Lin Xuan closed his eyes, and he and Yue released their divine sense, an invisible tide sweeping across Cloud City—streets, rooftops, courtyards, and hidden compounds unfolding clearly within their perception.

  “There,” Yue said softly.

  Across the square, a figure moved with an aura that radiated divine authority. Even among countless cultivators and bustling crowds, she stood apart, as if the world itself unconsciously made way for her.

  Lin Xuan’s divine sense locked onto that figure—but he didn’t stop there.

  His expression grew serious.

  He focused his divine sense with extreme intensity, compressing it to a razor’s edge, piercing past surface cultivation, past physical form—straight into the flow of providence surrounding her.

  The surrounding spiritual energy trembled faintly under the pressure.

  Then—

  His eyes snapped open.

  Shock flickered across his face.

  “…A protagonist,” Lin Xuan murmured.

  “A female… a heroine…”

  His pupils contracted as threads of golden fate revealed themselves within his perception.

  “…carrying the pure providence of the heavens…”

  For the first time in a long while, genuine disbelief colored his voice.

  “…A Holy Maiden?”

  This was no illusion.

  Unlike Liu Xin—who had been abandoned by the heavens and forced to rise through defiance—this woman was openly favored. The heavens did not restrain her. They protected her.

  Lin Xuan exhaled slowly, eyes fixed on her retreating figure.

  “So this is what heaven’s favoritism looks like…”

  Without another word, he and Yue followed her silently, their presence perfectly concealed.

  They crossed several streets before arriving at a vast compound dominating an entire district. Massive gates carved with cloud-and-gold insignias stood tall—the headquarters of the Prosperity Cloud Chamber of Commerce.

  It was not merely a pce of business.

  It was her home.

  Su Qingyun stepped through the gates without hesitation. Guards bowed deeply as she passed, reverence etched into every movement.

  The gates closed slowly behind her.

  Lin Xuan stood across the street, gaze calm yet sharp, watching the compound as though staring at the center of a gathering storm.

  “A heaven-favored heroine,” he said quietly. “And I’ve already stepped into her fate.”

  ...

  The massive gates of the Prosperity Cloud Chamber closed slowly behind Su Qingyun.

  The noise of the city was cut off in an instant.

  Inside, the halls were vast and immacute, polished jade floors reflecting soft ntern light. Servants and guards lowered their heads as she passed, yet she did not acknowledge them. Her steps were steady, composed—fwless.

  Only when she entered the inner chamber, a pce no one else was allowed to tread, did she finally stop.

  The doors shut with a muted thud.

  Silence flooded the room.

  Su Qingyun stood there for a long moment, her back straight, her breathing controlled. Then, slowly, her shoulders trembled.

  Her fingers clenched into her sleeves.

  “…Father,” she whispered.

  The word broke something inside her.

  She moved unsteadily to a low table where a single spirit mp burned. Beside it rested a jade tablet bearing her father’s name—carefully cleaned, never allowed to gather dust.

  Her composure cracked.

  Tears welled in her eyes, slipping down her cheeks without a sound.

  “They’re dead,” she said softly, almost numbly. “All of them… the ones I swore I would kill with my own hands.”

  Her nails dug into her palms.

  “I prepared for so long. I waited for the right moment…”

  Her voice trembled.

  “And now… even that was taken from me.”

  The spiritual energy in the room stirred restlessly. Outside, clouds above the chamber shifted faintly, responding to her grief as if the heavens themselves were uneasy.

  Su Qingyun wiped her tears roughly, forcing herself to stand straight once more.

  “Everyone says I should be relieved,” she murmured bitterly. “That I should be grateful.”

  A hollow ugh escaped her lips.

  “But why does it hurt even more?”

  She looked at her reflection in a polished jade mirror. The woman staring back was calm, beautiful, dignified—untouched by tragedy in the eyes of the world.

  “…I didn’t even get to say goodbye,” she whispered.

  Slowly, she pced a hand over her heart.

  Su Qingyun’s trembling had barely begun to settle when a shadow flickered behind her.

  A low, cold voice broke the silence:

  “Are you sad… because the one you were preparing to take revenge on… has already been wiped out?”

  Su Qingyun froze, her hand instinctively tightening around her robes. A chill ran down her spine.

  She spun around hastily, eyes wide. “Who… who are you?!”

  The shadow moved closer, silently gliding across the polished jade floor. The air seemed to warp around it, a suffocating pressure pressing in.

  As it stepped into the dim light, Su Qingyun could finally see its form.

  A half-mask shaped like a dragon hid its face, intricate scales glinting faintly. A bck robe flowed around the figure, and long bck hair spilled over its shoulders like midnight silk. Its presence alone radiated an aura of overwhelming power, cold and suffocating.

  Su Qingyun’s eyes widened, her lips parting in horror.

  “F-False God…” she whispered, the words barely audible, trembling like a leaf in a storm.

  Her heart pounded violently.